Dhoni's got a gun
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is currently the blue-eyed boy of Indian cricket. The
World Twenty20 win last year, the eye-popping IPL salary, the victory
against world-beating Australia in the recent Test series - it seems he can
do no wrong. So when he was asked by the Ranchi District Arms Magistrate to
produce a character certificate before he could get a gun licence, a section of his
fans were outraged. "A great son of India has been insulted by this demand
for a character reference," they said and effigies of the local magistrate
were burnt during a demonstration demanding that the licence be issued
immediately. Their efforts didn't go in vain; the Ranchi district
administration withdrew their request, saying a person of Dhoni's stature
needed no reference.

All for a good cause
What is today's cricketer's favourite hobby? "Stripping to raise cancer awareness" seems to be the answer. Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook and James Anderson did it earlier this year for Everyman, the UK's leading campaigner against male cancer, and now it's Australia's cricketers in a calendar to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer. Among the players to feature in the 13-month calendar called Men of Cricket are Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Shane Watson and Simon Katich.
Glenn McGrath, who retired last year, thanked the players for their support
but added: "I'm actually quite glad the calendar is happening now rather
than a few years ago as I'm not sure how much notice I would have needed to
feel comfortable getting my shirt off."

Eight ball
Cricket is a game that can be played in a plethora of formats. Besides the
Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s, there's six-a-side, double-wicket cricket, beach
cricket, Kwik cricket. A new addition to the list is "octagon cricket", a
short, eight-a-side game. It is being promoted by Otago Cricket as part of a
bid to encourage more of New Zealand's school children to take up the sport.
The format will first be trialled in Dunedin, and an inter-school tournament
has been organised with the final to be played during the lunch break on the
first day of the Test between New Zealand and West Indies at the University
Oval in December.

Double trouble
Kevin Pietersen's switch-hits may have been a spectacular success but
Andrew Symonds' attempts to reverse-sweep using the back of the bat were less
so. However, if a revolutionary new Gray-Nicolls bat catches on, Symonds' shot
could become a staple: a prototype has been developed with a flattened
hitting area on the reverse face of the bat. Batmaker Stuart Kranzbuhler
told the Age that the bat would conform to ICC specifications and
"could be made without reducing hitting power from the front".

Good fences make good neighbours
Powerful modern bats that enable batsmen to hit the ball a long way are a
curse for bowlers. Now they could bring a halt to cricket at a ground in
Devon, where the poet Rudyard Kipling reputedly played in the late
19th century. The increasing number of deliveries being hit out of the
ground is bringing with it an increasing number of claims for damage from
nearby establishments. The insurance company of Bideford CC, the
club that plays its home games at the ground, has warned that it might not
renew their contract unless higher fencing is erected. "No fencing, no
cricket. That could be the reality of the situation," said Peter Adams, the
club's president. The club has decided to put up netting on two sides as a
temporary measure and launched an appeal for the 9000 pounds needed for the
fences.

Fore!
The big hits have been causing havoc over in Australia too. This time it was the
Gold Coast Dolphins, the club side through which Andrew Symonds made his
return to cricket after being sent home following his infamous fishing
trip, that was in the thick of it. Umpires and scorers may have
thankless jobs at the best of times; Symonds' team-mates made a tournament in Brisbane a particularly wretched time for the officials. A huge six from the captain, Brad Ipson,
cleared the ground and homed in on the rear window of an umpire's car, while Kevin Chapman's shot sailed into the scorers' box and made a mess of a laptop.

Headline of the Week
"Beaten by a man in a corset"The ever-reliable Sun plays on the fact that Yuvraj Singh wore a back
brace during his 78-ball 138 which flattened England in Rajkot